Princess from Earth
by Black Snowdrop
Summary: Odin decides that Midgard and Asgard should have an arrangement: Midgard offers up one of its women as match for Odin's youngest son Loki in return for continued, reinforced protection from alien forces. Darcy is chosen to be the match for Prince Loki and suddenly she swaps her life of student debt, interning, hacking and social media for a life in the glittering world of Asgard.
1. Preparations Are Complete

It had been several weeks since her last visit to Midgard and that had only been on business just like today's visit. Before that it had been many centuries since Lady Sif had walked across Midgardian ground and seen the way both the landscape and the people had changed. In the six or seven centuries since she had taken a proper look around, everything seemed to have changed. It was like walking across a different world; one with more confidence and certainty about what it could do and what it could offer. Lady Sif grimaced to herself as she considered today's task and how very much it was an offering of sorts.

Stepping away from the imprint of the Bifrost, Sif looked around at the New Mexico desert. About 3000 yards away, she could see an encampment. She recognized the emblem of this world's secret security organization, SHIELD. She nodded to Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun as they stepped up beside her.

"All right, we have a job to do," she said the words aloud but they were as much directed at herself as they were at her friends.

"Right then," Fandral started walking straight away.

Sif had to hold herself back from glaring at him at his confidence and willingness to do this job. Every cell in her body protested when she made her own movements alongside him as if they were screaming at her. _You can't do this. It's wrong. It's outdated. It's not fair._ But it was not in her to disobey the Allfather even though she hated this decision, this arrangement. It was an insult that she had been picked for this assignment; she, who had won Asgard over to the idea of a female warrior, now going to collect a young Midgardian girl who would be used as a token of peace between Asgard and Midgard. All because the Allfather had decided that Midgard did nothing for Asgard yet got its protection for free. Honestly the arrangement was such an antiquated concept. Arranged marriage? Taking the girl away from her life on Earth. Maybe the girl had dreams of her own, plans for her future.

Lady Sif forced her thoughts to stop there. The girl had agreed to it, she had to remind herself. Sif didn't like it but she couldn't exactly argue with a choice the young woman had made. She had to respect that decision, if nothing else but as a fellow woman. _Besides,_ a crafty voice inside Sif mused, s_he has up until the wedding to change her mind after all._ Maybe she would once she realised the type of man she was going to be married to. Loki was a notorious prankster and untrustworthy to boot. What woman in their right mind would want to chain themselves to a future of doubt, suspicion and paranoia?

As the group approached the encampment, some Shield guards walked forwards. They wore black defensive gear and masks over their faces. Sif marvelled that they didn't overheat though she supposed this world might have cooling technology by now. As they reached the group, she laid her forearm across her chest in greeting. "We are Lady Sif, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun of Asgard." She gestured to each one as she made the introduction. "Your leader, Director Fury, is expecting us."

"I certainly am," a deep voice rumbled from underneath one of the masks. The mask was removed and Sif recognised the stern features of the Director of Shield and his eyepatch. Next to him, another guard took off his mask. He was a small man with dark hair that was disappearing from a rapidly receding hairline. He had a friendly enough smile though his eyes were cool and cautious. The Director gestured to him. "This is Phil Coulson, one of our chief coordinators of this agreement," he said.

Sif nodded her head in respect. "Pleasure," she said.

"And yourselves," Coulson answered.

"How are things with the girl?" Volstagg asked, directing his gaze at Fury.

"She'll be on the road very soon, should get here in a couple of hours," the Director answered.

"And is she certain about this?" Sif asked. "This is a momentous situation."

"For both Earth and Asgard," Fury reminded her. "We're sure. We've talked it through with her, given her a lot of time to think about it. She's adamant that she wants to do this so it's full steam ahead," he continued. "I understand she has up until the wedding to change her mind."

"She does," Hogun answered. He stared grimly around. "If she does, we'll return her to your custody."

"And someone else will be chosen," Fury acknowledged.

"That's the plan," Fandral said. "The Allfather doesn't want to force anyone but he is keen on the arrangement."

Fury looked at him silently. Unfriendly judgement shone out of his eyes for a brief flicker. "Of course he is. Fortunately for him Darcy is keen on the idea."

"She's a courageous young woman, doing this for her world." Volstagg remarked. Sif nodded too.

"Yes she is. Exceptionally brave. Though I think the prospect of a new world has a certain appeal for her too." The director remarked with a thin smile. "Can I trust that she will be safe on Asgard?"

"Yes," Fandral, Volstagg, Sif and Hogun answered all at once.

"Of course," Sif continued. "She will be living in the heart of the royal family. She will have plenty of protection. When she transitions into one of us, she will be stronger and better capable of protecting herself after it all."

"Good," Fury said. "Someone willing to do this for their planet deserves to be taken care of."

"We will watch out for her," Sif said.

"We give you our word," Fandral agreed.

"Does she really have no family?" Volstagg asked, sadness heavy in her tone.

"It's true," Nick said. "As per your Allfather's requirement, Darcy was chosen from many women with backgrounds in foster homes. Darcy lived in foster homes all her life. She got a scholarship to get her through college and she supported herself with several jobs. She's an enterprising and resilient young woman and one of Culver's best and brightest. I'm sure she'll be an asset to Asgard."

Sif said nothing to this description. Someone who had had that kind of hard luck deserved better than to be manacled to someone who was never going to deserve or earn a trust that was probably hard to give in the first place. That was another thing Sif hated about this arrangement. Odin had chosen to pick someone out of the lonely of Midgard. It was a calculated move to ensure there were no family ties to complicate the arrangement. The more she learned about the girl, the more she questioned how she had the strength to make this kind of choice, what she was thinking about and what she was hoping to gain from it.

"As we mentioned, it'll be a few hours before Darcy arrives," Phil explained. "You're welcome to wait here until they arrive."

"Thank you," Volstagg answered.

They followed the Shield agents inside the encampment which was a vast space of grey, metallic looking tents and a lot of people with guns. Some of the encampment was comprised of large pavilion tents. There was a kitchen area beneath one of them with large metallic freezers and ovens as well as many picnic tables lined up together. In other areas, Sif could see more advanced technology and a great deal of people surrounding it, working at laptops and making notes and talking on the radios. As they walked Coulson explained that they were keeping a lookout for any flights that might cross into this airspace or any signs of hackers that might try and find out what they were all doing here. It was a big operation for the sending off of one human but Sif supposed this was Shield just being overcautious.

With such a fuss being made over this girl, Sif was feeling more and more curious about her by the minute.

"I think you're absolutely bananas," Gillian Webster told Darcy as the college graduate packed her ipod and a couple of books into her backpack.

The bag was already straining under the weight of many more books, her favourite hoodie, t-shirts, jeans, boots (screw Asgard's insistence on her not bringing any Earth clothes, these were comforting, dammit) and a music box that had been given away along with her as a baby. As she closed over the bag, Darcy looked over towards her friend with a smile. "Yeah, possibly," she said as she shrugged the bag straps onto her shoulders, "but it's going to be ace." She looked over to her friend, meeting her eyes and the words just fell away.

Gillian, who had been Darcy's longest friend since they'd both ended up in the same foster home thirteen years ago, let out a sigh so huge that her many, honey-brown hair braids rattled musically. Many of the strands carried colourful beads and trinkets from many souvenir stores over the years. Some of them were presents from Darcy but mainly they were gifts to herself. Darcy laughed softly as she listened to the noise. Her heart began to ache as she wondered how long it would be before she would be able to visit Gillian again. So many people had gone in and out of Darcy's life, so few of them sticking around but here she was, Gillian, with her platform heels, her zebra print t-shirts, neon blue shorts and her bright, owl-like grey eyes along with her part-Spanish complexion that had always made Darcy wish she'd come from that heritage and had some of the traditions that she'd read about. (Gillian hadn't had any of them either. She'd been in the system almost as long as Darcy had.) Now, after so many weeks of meetings with Shields, learning a bit about the society she was going to join and counsellor sessions, all to determine whether she was absolutely sure about going, Darcy felt the first niggles of doubt.

"How do you know?" Gillian asked. "You have no idea what it's going to be like up there? This is so nuts, Darcy. You can't just… just relocate to another planet." As she said the words, a nervous laugh escaped her and Darcy laughed along with her. It was completely bonkers when you said it in plain English, she knew that for sure.

"I don't know," Darcy agreed and then laughed again, "but I want to find out. I mean… this is a chance to live on another world. It's exciting, it's mad, it's incredible." She covered her mouth for a moment. "How many chances do people like us get for something like this? This kind of opportunity is too good to turn down."

"I dunno, I would," Gillian said with a frown. It vanished slowly and she walked forwards, pulling Darcy into a hug. "I just keep thinking, what if something goes wrong up there and something happens to you or you hate it or something? I would never know if you were okay or if something had happened."

Darcy hugged her friend hard. "Don't think like that. Besides, if I hate it, I have until my wedding day to change my mind. As for anything else… well, I'll be careful."

Gillian scoffed into Darcy's shoulder. "Oh suddenly now you're going to start being careful," she remarked.

Darcy swatted her back. "Shut up." The two girls slowly pulled apart. "You know I'm gonna ask about visiting you," she said, "or you could visit me. I at least want you there at my wedding," she said and then exhaled as another wave of laughter passed silently over her. "My wedding."

"You say it like it's so normal," Gillian breathed. "You travelling to Asgard to marry a prince. Actually marry. Fairytale-style."

"I know right?" Darcy smiled sheepishly. "Bonkers, eh?"

"Completely," Gill agreed, "but that's you all over, Darcy." She hugged her again. "You're absolutely sure?"

"Yeah," Darcy said after the briefest pause. There were only a few times in her life when she had had to use her gut instinct or where she'd known something was right with her whole heart and now both her heart and her gut were telling her to get her butt to Asgard. She could still back out of this anytime and if she didn't at least try, she would kick herself for it. She would be that grandma out on the porch telling her disbelieving descendants that she had the chance to go to another world and she turned it down. So… better to go there, hate it and come home than refuse for the wrong reasons and regret it. "I'm sure," she told Gillian. "But I'm going to miss you so much."

Gillian smiled. "Well you better get working on an invite for me while you're up there then."

"Try and stop me," Darcy told her.

She looked out of the window. These last four years living in Willowdale in this tiny apartment with Gillian, they had been the best years of her life. The apartment was about the size of four or five closets and it was pretty poky but they'd made it their own. They'd tossed colourful throws and cushions over the dreary grey couch and black chairs in the lounge, put up postcards of all the places they'd planned to visit all over the fading grey and blue striped wallpaper. Cheap rugs from Amazon and second hand stores decorated the plain duck egg blue carpet. In the far corner of the apartment was a map of the world, full of colourful pins from one of their daydreaming sessions.

Darcy swallowed back a lump in her throat as she looked around the place. It felt weird knowing that she was going to be calling somewhere else home now.

Behind her, she felt Gillian step up and put her hands on her shoulders. "This'll all be waiting if you change your mind."

Darcy looked at her. "How?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "I thought you said you couldn't afford-"

"Well," Gillian gave her a mischievous smile, "your friends at Shield were very generous in exchange for my silence about your little deal." She let out a soft chuckle. "A couple of years rent free in this place and all I had to sign was some super legal non-disclosure thing." She looked out of the window herself. "Gives me a bit of time to get my shit together."

Darcy reached up to squeeze Gillian's hand. "That's awesome."

"So no excuses now you know where to find me," Gillian said.

"I don't need an excuse and you know it, Webster."

"Good to hear, Lewis." Gillian giggled.

Both of them stood there for a few minutes, watching the people pass by on the street and the quiet hum of traffic strum along. Soon a black town car pulled up in front of a building and a man in a black suit stepped out and released a couple of blasts on a whistle. Darcy winced as the noise cut through the air.

"Time to go," Gillian spoke for her.

"Yeah," Darcy said, turning around and hugging her friend. "Thanks for everything."

"Shut up," Gillian whispered back emotionally as she returned the hug. "I'll see you soon, remember?"

"Yeah," Darcy said. She pulled back and a painful swell of emotion surged in her throat. Her eyes watered and for a moment Darcy felt like a child being left alone at her first ballet class or adventure club, felt the absence of her friend before Gillian had even gone anywhere. "I will see you soon," she promised. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself away from her friend and she crossed the length of the apartment towards the door. She wanted to look back and see Gillian but her stomach felt as wobbly as if she'd eaten an entire bowl of jelly and the beginnings of nausea were creeping in. She knew if she looked back, she would only end up dragging this out even more.

She stepped through the door, took the building stairs three at a time and finally emerged into the sunlit street where the Shield agent straightened up and opened the car door for her. Darcy let out a weak laugh as she approached. "Yeah I can still remember how to open a door thanks," she said as she climbed inside the car. She looked up towards the apartment window. Gillian was smiling down at her waving. Darcy lifted her hand to wave back once before the Shield agent closed the door on her.

It was a short ride in the town car to a near empty airfield. A few agents of Shield were waiting for her next to a very small grey plane. One of the agents called it a quinjet. Darcy had half expected to see plush seating, DVD players built into the walls and some food service. Instead it was just as grey and practical inside with two rows of seating with harnesses and a couple of seats up front of the control panel. As Darcy climbed into the jet, she felt like she was being taken off to prison instead of jetting off (hehe, get it?) to live on a different world. She strapped herself in and leaned back as the agents prepared for take off.

The actual flight was only a couple of hours and soon Darcy was looking out of a tiny, circular side window at the New Mexico desert that rose up to greet them. In the middle of which, there was a set of steel grey buildings. As they advanced, Darcy realised they were tents.

"All this just to see me off?" she asked one of the agents, a tall blonde haired woman with a lean muscular build to her.

The woman smiled. "This is a pretty momentous occasion. We want to gather as much information about the process as we can," she said.

The plane touched down, jostling them as it did and Darcy's stomach lurched, rolling over and over. Her grip on the handbars tightened so much that by the time the quinjet skidded to a stop, her palms were tomato red. She flexed her fingers as the agents began to gather their things. She unfastened her harness and followed them down the ramp. The New Mexico heat was like a smack in the face and Darcy sucked in a breath as she looked out towards the Shield encampment.

"This way," the blonde haired woman gestured.

"You sure?" Darcy couldn't resist. "I'm pretty sure the vast desert out there is really our destination."

Instead of looking miffed, the blonde agent just scoffed and continued walking forwards. Darcy followed her. It was only about 500 yards away but a man in a suit was already walking up to meet them. He had receding dark hair and sunglasses that made him look like he'd stepped out of a Men in Black movie. He greeted the blonde agent with a handshake and a nod of his head.

"Nice job, Agent Morse," he said before turning to Darcy.

"Hey Phil," she said giving him a wave. "How's it going?"

"Not so bad. Good to have you here in one piece."

"I know, right? Trust me, no one is more excited about that than me."

Phil chuckled. "I'm sure. Now I know it's been a long flight so I'll take you to the refreshment tent and then the Asgardians want to speak to you."

A chill ran through Darcy at once. The Asgardians. Soon to be her new people. She still had the file that Shield had given her on them. They were an immortal race as well as being super strong and fast. A human lifetime was nothing to them in comparison. Darcy suddenly thought of Gill, growing older and older and Darcy always staying the same. Eventually Gill would die and Darcy would still be here. It was a sobering thought. One day she would come to Earth and all of her old friends would be dead and gone. A thousand years would pass and all that had been part of her old life would probably be changed. The world was always changing at a fast rate. But Darcy wouldn't.

"Darcy?" Phil prompted.

"Yeah, sure," Darcy said, adjusting her bag over her shoulder.

The small group entered the confines of the Shield encampment. There were about eight or nine tents overall, some larger than others. The largest tent was filled with picnic benches along with cooking and cooling equipment. Many agents were already sat in there. Other tents had heavy equipment stationed there. One tent was closed over but as an agent entered it, Darcy got the briefest glimpse of some weapons.

Phil led them to the refreshments tent where Darcy ordered a lemonade and cheeseburger. The other agents left her to her own devices which she was grateful for. Being crowded like that was not her scene. It made her glad she wasn't a celebrity or a member of an Earth royal family. (She would be part of the Asgardian one soon enough.)

She was just finishing her food when Phil returned with four strangely dressed people: three men and a woman. The woman had raven hair and a guarded expression. She was dressed in armour with red leather lying beneath the metal. One of the men was extremely handsome, with golden hair like a Disney prince, and dark blue eyes. He wore armour and a dark red cloak with (to Darcy's great annoyance) fur lining the top of it. He was smiling broadly at her with a magnanimous smile. He looked like the kind of man who knew exactly how handsome he was and told himself so in the mirror every morning. Next to him was a broadly built man with astonishing red hair and a thick beard. His eyes were friendly and twinkling as he surveyed Darcy. He reminded her of a red-haired Father Christmas or a much taller, friendlier Gimli from Lord of the Rings. The final man was shorter than the other two. He had long jet black hair that was tied in a ponytail and an expression so solemn you would have thought he was attending a funeral. His attire was all black as well.

"Lady Darcy," the woman spoke first, stepping forward with her right arm across her chest, fist clenched at the shoulder, "it's an honour to meet you. I am Lady Sif. Myself and these gentlemen will be escorting you to Asgard." She gestured to the men behind her.

Darcy pushed her empty food containers to one side and scrambled to her feet with as little awkwardness as she could manage. "Hi," she said. "Nice to meet you-" she began.

"Gentlemen?" The golden haired man suddenly scoffed. "I've never heard you call us that before." He said, his lips falling into a smirk as he looked at Sif. "Say it again, I dare you."

Sif rolled her eyes at him. "May I introduce the Warriors Three?" she addressed Darcy as though Fandral had not spoken. "These will be accompanying us to Asgard. They are some of the finest warriors in all of the nine realms," she continued. "Even if one of them has an ego that requires it's own Bifrost journey," she added with a side look at the blond haired man. Darcy stifled a chuckle, biting down on her lip as she smiled.

The blond haired man stepped forward into a sweeping bow. "My Lady, the pleasure is mine. I am Fandral. It's an honour to be escorting you this evening." Darcy was about to answer him when he stepped forward, lifted her hand and gave it a kiss. "You are quite the lovely lady," he added.

"Fandral," Sif chided.

The red-haired man stepped forward once Fandral had released Darcy's hand and stepped away. He gave her a bow and a cheerful smile. "I'm Volstagg. It's lovely to meet you." Darcy couldn't help smiling more at him. It was so nice to hear someone being less formal in their speech. It was really weird being called Lady, like she had any kind of title here. "I've got to say I think you're very remarkable, doing this."

"Volstagg-" Sif began.

"No but really I do," Volstagg said. "You're a very brave young woman."

Darcy's cheeks were pink. "I don't know about that. I mean it's not like I'm doing this for free am I?" she instantly closed her mouth and cursed herself. "I mean— what I mean is this is going to be an interesting experience… for me." She could feel her cheeks burning up even more. Wow Darcy, eloquent.

"Oh interesting doesn't even scratch the surface," Fandral quipped. Sif gave him a dangerous look. Volstagg didn't seem too offended by Darcy's remark. In fact, he laughed.

"Moving to another world." He said. "In my books that is still brave." He bowed his head and stepped back into the line of men.

The third man stepped forward. Before he could speak, Fandral spoke up. "This is Hogun," he told Darcy. "Hogun the Grim. I bet you cannot guess why."

"Fandral, will you shut up?" Sif demanded.

"Pleased to meet you," Hogun said as he offered his hand. Darcy shook it and she was surprised to see the grim-faced warrior's expression lighten into a small smile. "I apologise for Fandral. Every group has an idiot. He is ours."

Fandral puffed himself up. "Well that was rude."

Sif held up her hands. "Gentlemen please." She turned back to Darcy. "Do you have everything you need with you?" she asked.

"Uh yeah," Darcy said. She eyed her backpack. "I know I was told that I'd have new clothes once I move up there," she gestured upwards. "But there's a few things that are… well they mean a lot to me. I'd rather not leave them behind."

Sif smiled slightly. "You can bring them. In the privacy of your own chambers you can wear what you like. Around the palace and the city you'll be expected to wear our attire though," she said. "But it's fine for you to wear your stuff in your room if you want. The Allfather wants you to be as comfortable as possible here. He understands that this is a huge move for you." Darcy couldn't help wonder what she meant by "for you". That kinda implied they did deals like this all the time. But as far as she knew, the royal family only had two sons. Or maybe Sif was just being nice. Darcy let the matter drop for now.

"Speaking of clothing," Sif continued. "You need to change into Asgardian attire before we make the trip back. The people need to see you embracing our style straight away as we travel to the palace."

"Oh," said Darcy. "Um, okay, that's cool, I guess."

Lady Sif beckoned to her. "Come with me."

She took Darcy across to the other side of the Shield encampment to a small tent. Inside was mirror along with a clothing rack with one thing hanging off it. It was a floor length purple gown imbued with a pattern that reminded Darcy of twinkling starlight.

"This… this is so fancy. Is this ceremonial?" Darcy looked at Sif as she asked. Sif chuckled.

"Well… kind of… not really. I mean we are going to be giving you a quick tour of the city before we get to the palace so I suppose it is kind of ceremonial but a lot of your clothes will be like this." Sif lifted some of the fabric between her fingers. "Shield told us you like the colour purple."

"Yeah," Darcy answered. "I love it. It's great."

"Good," Sif said. "I'll leave you to change. Shout me if you need anything." With that, Sif stepped out of the tent.

Darcy stared at the dress for a full two minutes. It was so regal and sparkly. Darcy felt kind of nervous about touching it let alone wearing it. But as more minutes passed by, she shook herself. No, it was time to get ready.

It didn't take her long to change into the dress. Not only was it gorgeous but it fitted well and it was so god damn comfortable. Darcy felt like all of her limbs were being hugged and soothed at once. She turned to look at herself in the mirror and she grinned. The dress hugged her body in all the ways Darcy liked best. It showed off her curves and the neckline danced teasingly above the tops of her breast, just underneath the pendant she wore. Next to the gown, her woven pendant with the fake amethyst inside it looked shabby. But Darcy didn't take the necklace off. Instead she covered it with one hand. She took a few deep breaths. No amount of fancy dresses could equal this treasure. She grabbed her hairbrush out of her bag and ran it through her hair a few times, smoothing out the tussles from the journey. With her hair neat and wavy and flowing over her shoulders, she stared at herself in the mirror._ Is it really possible to look this different?_ She turned away from the mirror and grabbed some makeup from the outsitde pockets.

A bit of eyeliner and mascara and a bit of lip gloss later and she was ready. She packed her other clothes into her backpack and stepped out of the tent.

Sif was waiting for her. She looked Darcy over with a smile. "You look beautiful," she said. "The Queen has excellent taste," she mused.

"She really does- - wait, what?"

Sif's smile upturned into a grin. "The Queen of Asgard. She chose your dress."

"Holy-" Darcy stopped herself and instead fell into step beside Sif as they headed back towards the food pavilion. The Warriors Three had been joined by Phil Coulson and tall, bald, dark skinned man with an impressive trenchcoat and an eyepatch. He was the first to spot them as they arrived. Out of the corner of her eye, Darcy could see Fandral looking her over with a bright, approving smile that made her feel both flattered and a little edgy. She returned her full attention to the two Shield men. Eyepatch walked up to them and offered his hand which Darcy took.

"Director Nick Fury. It's good to meet you, Miss Lewis."

"Hi." Darcy's eloquence streak was building up steam.

Nick turned towards Lady Sif. "I assume all preparations are complete?"

"They are, sir." Sif nodded.

"In that case will you leave us be for a few minutes. I'd like a private chat with Darcy."

Sif said nothing but gave a stiff nod and walked back towards the Warriors Three. Darcy looked up at Director Fury. He looked behind him as if checking for eavesdroppers and then he turned back to Darcy. "This is a big move, Darcy. Are you sure that this is what you want? We can call it off if you're having any doubts at all." He was looking at her intently now. "And there's no shame in changing your mind."

Maybe she should have been worried. Maybe she should have been having second thoughts. Maybe that was the normal thing for someone to do. But as Darcy looked up at Director Fury and at the sky beyond him, she had never been more sure of anything in her life.

"I want to do this. I'm sure."

At first the Director didn't speak. He just continued to look at her for about a minute. Slowly his lips curved into a smile and he let out a muffled huff of laughter. "You're an impressive girl, Miss Lewis."

"So I'm told," she smiled back at him.

"Not many people would be as cool as you about moving to another world."

"Guess I'm not normal then," Darcy smiled as she tugged her backpack further onto her shoulders. She never had been really. She'd always been a step out of sync with people. Not enough to get a lot of ridicule but she'd always been aware of it. But now she thought maybe that was a good thing.

"Maybe not. But that's not always a bad thing," Director Fury said. "At any rate, I believe the terms of the agreement are that you have until your wedding day to change your mind. A lot can happen between now and then. Just know that if you do change your mind, no one is going to think badly of you."

"Thanks," Darcy said. "Not being hated would be awesome."

The Director made another muffled noise of amusement. "I suppose we better get you ready to leave then, Miss Lewis."

The tents were packed away, leaving the many pieces of impressive, complicated equipment exposed to the New Mexico elements. Shield scientists moved around, adjusting their instruments, getting them to face the direction that Darcy, Sif, the Warriors Three, Director Fury and Phil were heading in. They had to walk about a thousand yards away from the encampment. Fury and Phil stood to one side as Sif and the Warriors surrounded Darcy in a protective circle.

"Ready?" Volstagg asked Darcy.

"You can hang onto me if you like," Fandral told her with a wink.

"I'm good," she told him. "I don't need handlebars, right?"

"Nope," Sif said. "I hope you like going fast."

"Who doesn't?"

The lady warrior smirked. "Then you're going to enjoy this." She turned towards the Director and Phil. "Asgard thanks you for your cooperation."

"No problem," Phil called back. He smiled at Darcy. "Take care up there."

"And we expect you all to look out for her." Fury added with a warning note in his voice.

"She'll be under our protection," Volstagg said. "We won't allow her to come to any harm."

"Good," Fury answered. He nodded to Darcy. "Good luck."

She nodded back at him, too nervous to speak now. This was it. This was really happening.

Sif looked up above them. "Heimdall!" she called. "Take us up."

Darcy prepared herself, half expecting a gigantic booming voice to respond from the heavens to answer in the affirmative. Instead, the sky immediately above them transformed from the relaxed cornflower blue into an astonishing concoction of evergreen, scarlet, orange, violet, magenta and gold, all of them blending into each other and gleaming brightly, looking like a patch of rainbow, amplified a million times. Similarly coloured light burst from the sky enveloping the group of Asgardians and Darcy at once. The world outside the circle of colours disappeared. No more New Mexico, no more Fury and Coulson, no more Shield. No more earth. Darcy felt a pull upwards, the strength of which she'd never felt on any theme park ride, like her whole body was being yanked away. There was no ground beneath her feet. Darcy shrieked.

She flailed, unconnected with anything, falling back but being pushed upwards at the same time. The rushing sensation intensified and, as her cries drained from her throat, she looked around her. The colours were rushing past her faster and more intensely than ever. The other Asgardians were staring upwards, unfazed by the coloured rush around them.

Darcy followed their gaze. The tunnel of colours and lights was almost blinding her as she did but in the far distance, she saw a tiny sphere of white light. Darcy lowered her gaze. She could no longer see sand beneath her feet. She saw something blue and cloudy and spherical shrinking beneath her feet.

Something inside Darcy switched and she began to laugh instead, harder than before. She was flying. This was real flying. She stretched out her arms with a grin and tilted her head back as she yelled, "Woooooooo!" Near her, she heard Volstagg and Fandral laugh but she didn't care. This was the greatest rush everywhere. Every cell in her body felt like it had been dipped in sugar, hyped up by this strange alien travel.

"Get ready!" Sif shouted over to her. Darcy just about heard her before the formerly distant sphere of light caught up to them in seconds, enveloping them all.

Ground touched Darcy's feet and the colours disappeared around her, replaced by a semi-darkened bronze chamber. Darcy stumbled forward, her feet unprepared for the return of ground. Her knees buckled and she stepped on her dress as she lurched forward, her body out of balance. She would have hit the floor face first if two sets of arms hadn't grabbed her own. As Darcy's balance was rescued, she looked up into the smiling faces of Volstagg and Fandral.

"Thanks," she grinned. "That was awesome!" She said as she looked back. The coloured lights were completely vanished now. Behind them was a window looking out into space. It was a closer view of space than she'd ever seen on Google and Darcy began to step towards them. The two men let her go, stepping aside as she approached the window. She looked out at the expansive cosmos, the different colours of cosmic dust that wrapped around patterns of stars and distant planets. "That's incredible…" she murmured. She stared out at it for a few moments before she looked back at the waiting Asgardians. "How did we get here?"

"It's called the Bifrost," a man behind the other Asgardians stood. He was very tall with gold armour and golden-amber eyes that complimented his armour and stood out against his dark skin. He was solidly built and he was stood behind a golden sword, currently embedded in a large circular machine. He smiled at Darcy. "Welcome to Asgard."

"This is Heimdall," Volstagg gestured to the man. "He watches over the Nine Realms and guards the bifrost. He allows us to travel across the realms where we are needed."

"It's great to meet you," Darcy told Heimdall. He bowed his head to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Your coming is quite extraordinary. I wish you well, Lady Darcy."

She wriggled a little. "Awww thank you."

Sif moved where Darcy stood. "Your carriage awaits. The plan is to take a quick tour around the city before we go to the palace. The people are anxious to see your arrival."

Darcy failed to cover up a laugh. "I get it. Publicity thing, right?"

"Indeed," Sif said. "You'll get a longer tour once you and Loki make your first public appearance together." She gently placed a hand on Darcy's back and firmly guided her around the room. It was completely circular and, apart from the Bifrost machine in the centre, completely empty. There was a circular shaped entryway without a door. As they stepped outside, Darcy looked at the floor. It was a kind of glass, sturdier than she'd ever seen before. Underneath the surface were streaks of many colours, like a rainbow trapped within the glass. As Darcy followed the bridge along, the colours stretched onwards like a rainbow that had been forced into a straight line.

Beyond that, Darcy got her first look at Asgard. Royal blue skies in the horizon greeted her but what really caught her attention was the magnificent city. Golden, shining buildings twinkled at her beneath the sunlight. In the heart of it was what looked like a gigantic set of golden reed pipes. It was easily the grandest building there. "That's the palace," Volstagg said as he stepped up besides Darcy. "Your new home," he added in a quieter, gentler tone.

Darcy continued to stare at the city. The bridge overlooked a massive body of water. As Darcy walked forwards and looked to the sides, she saw that the water ran towards the biggest waterfall she had ever seen in her life. The water seemed to disappear into space itself. Darcy thought of at least three questions she wanted to ask but then Sif cleared her throat and Darcy turned towards the warrior woman once again.

Immediately behind Sif, was an open-top golden carriage with ivory seating, pattered with large trees with golden apples. Darcy admired it as she peered into the carriage. Hogun was standing next to one of the doors, holding it open. "The trees are Yggdrasil," he told her,

"The World Tree," Darcy said, remembering some of the reading she'd done on the Norse myths. How many things of what she had read was true, she didn't know. She would find out soon enough, she supposed.

"Yes," Hogun gave her a small smile. "Midgard is one of the many branches of it, as are the other realms."

"Let me guess," Darcy grinned, "Asgard's at the top of the tree."

"Where else would we be?" teased Fandral. He was currently mounting one of the three single horses that stood outside the carriage.

Darcy climbed into the carriage and stared out over the city again. Sif climbed up into the drivers seat. Two pale golden horses began to nicker with impatience. Sif picked up the reins. Hogun and Volstagg climbed onto their horses and so they set off. Fandral rode ahead while Hogun and Volstagg rode behind the carriage.

Darcy looked out at Asgard, as she sat in the back. It felt strange, being treated like royalty. She wondered if this was what the British royal family felt like every time there was a big event or occasion, what it would feel like to be watched by so many people. The idea that the Asgardians wanted to have a good luck at her before she'd even met her fiance filled her stomach with mothballs. What was stranger, was the feeling of having people doing stuff for her. Up until this point in her life, Darcy had had to make things happen for herself. Saving up travel fare, taking out loans to get herself through college, working a few jobs just to pay for her apartment. All of that had barely given her the minimum standard of living. But here, she was going to be royalty and all for one decision she had made.

"Here we go," Sif called back to her as they neared the edge of the bridge. Darcy looked around. The streets of Asgard were lined with crowds of people, craning their necks to get a good luck at Darcy. Darcy felt the mothballs begin to gather in her stomach to form the mother of all mothballs. She began to feel slightly sick. _What if they don't like me?_ She suddenly thought to herself. _What if I mess this up? What if they don't want an Earth girl marrying her prince? What if Asgard decides they don't want me?_ She recognised these fears well. They'd haunted her throughout her whole childhood, every time a foster family took her in and thought about making it permanent. Every time, they had changed their mind or circumstances had changed. Would that happen here? Would this be the pattern for her whole life?

The quiet of the bridge was rapidly being replaced by the sounds of chattering and applause, calls and cheers coming from the crowd among them. Darcy reached up to smooth back her hair. As she lifted her hand, the people began to wave at her. Darcy paused mid air and waved back at them, slowly smiling as more and more of the crowd began to join in. The carriage slowed a little, allowing more of the people to get a good luck at Darcy. Darcy felt like she was going under a microscope. She could read the curiosity in every stare that came her way. She continued to wave as the people waved back. Some of the children began to throw things towards the carriage: flowers and small trinkets like pendants.

"Talismans," Sif said, glancing back at Darcy. "They are to give you good fortune in Asgard. This is a very positive sign so far."

Darcy smiled, relaxing a little more. She looked around at the city in closer details. The buildings were tall and grand. The city was styled like a medieval city with old stone buildings and yet modern golden buildings stood among them like towers. Many of the Asgardian women wore floor length dresses like Darcy. The men wore tunics, trousers and boots. Soldiers in golden armour stood around the road, holding barrier ropes that prevented people from moving towards the carriage.

The carriage followed the road around to the left. Further up, they passed along a wide road that cut through the middle of a market. Darcy looked out at the rows of stalls selling everything from fresh fruit and baked bread to trinkets and fabrics. She felt like she'd just entered the world of one of Gillian's fantasy games. She continued to wave at the people. The bottom of the carriage began to fill with flowers and further trinkets and, to Darcy's amusement, a bunch of grapes.

It was surprising how long the marketplace ran on for. The dozens of stalls ran alongside the road for at least twenty minutes as the road curved and twisted. It was unlike any market she'd seen on Earth. She also passed by larger stores. Even inside them, she could see curious faces lingering by the windows. They passed by a school. Lines of Asgardian children stared up at Darcy from the playground, many of them waving. Darcy waved back of course but her wrist was already starting to ache.

Beyond the palace were a number of grandiose houses, a tall spiralling building that Sif pointed out as the university, a couple of theatres and healing houses as well as a stadium and two smaller market places. By the time the carriage wound its way back onto the road leading to the palace, the sun was already sinking in the sky, bathing everything with a glow that sparkled enthusiastically off many of the buildings. Darcy wished she had thought to bring sunglasses. But then she supposed that would defeat the object of looking 'Asgardian' in the first place.

The gates of the palace were tall and proud with the face of an aged, solemn looking man, engraved onto them. As they carriage rumbled onto the front courtyard of the palace, the crowds disappeared and instead, Darcy watched as people bustled about, getting on with their own business. She was glad of the break of stares coming her way. It was not to last though. As Sif pulled the horses to a stop in front of the gigantic golden piped palace, Darcy saw the people stop and look over at her.

"Welcome to your new home," Sif said, turning in her seat towards her. She jumped down from the carriage and started towards the doors of the palace. Meanwhile, Fandral dismounted and strode over to the carriage, opening the door. Darcy took his hand and allowed him to help her down.

"Thanks," she said as she looked around the courtyard. People were still staring at her. Some of them held books, some of them were carrying linen or scrolls. There were many guards in gold armour standing at points around the courtyard and outside the doors where Sif was waiting for her.

Darcy's stomach squirmed. She was really here. It was really happening. This was Asgard. It was no longer just speculation. It was real.


	2. Settling In

"Welcome to the palace," Sif said as they stepped through golden doors elaborately carved with images of a Yggdrasil. The branches of the tree all held different worlds within them and each world was coloured in. Darcy stared at them as she passed, quickly spotting the blue and green orb that was Earth among them. She only had a quick glance at the others. Sif's pace was increasing and Darcy had to check herself to keep up with her.

"So, when do I meet him?" Darcy asked the warrior. "My fiance." Oh that was so weird to say. She had a fiance. She was engaged. This was bizarre. Oh wait was she engaged yet or was there going to be a ceremony or something? A big announcement or something. Sif's lip curled slightly and one of Darcy's eyebrows shot up. Oh, maybe he wasn't her fiance yet. Still, there was no need to be rude about it. It wasn't as though Darcy had received an Asgardian handbook or anything.

"You will meet Prince Loki later," Sif answered. The way she said his name was strained, as though Darcy was forcing her to say it. Did Sif have an issue with the prince? Darcy supposed she would soon find out. "The royal family have invited you to dine with them tonight and the introductions will be made there. We're to escort you to your rooms and help you get settled in."

"Rooms?" Darcy repeated. "Did you say rooms? As in plural?"

Sif's pursed look began to shift back into an amused smile. "Yes. I believe you mortals would call it a… suite?"

"Holy cow," Darcy muttered.

They walked through a gigantic lobby. People were moving across it, through various doors, carrying clothes, papers, books and food around. In the back stood a gigantic staircase, spiralling up into the rest of the palace. Seriously, the staircase was wide enough for a truck to move up it. Darcy felt so small as she followed Sif up the steps.. She had to lift her skirts to stop herself from tripping up them. What a great impression that would make. Midgardian Clutz Falls Up Royal Staircase. She could just see the headlines. Did Asgard even have headlines? Did it even have press?

They reached the first floor. There was a set of elaborately carved wooden doors decorated with rubies, displaying an image of the royal family. Darcy walked up to it to get a good look at them. It consisted of three men and a woman. The oldest man had snowy white hair, a golden eye patch over his right eye and was painted in splendid robes of red and gold. He held a gigantic spear in on hand, also gold. He didn't wear a crown but it was clear from his position in the painting and the positioning of the others, that this was the King. The woman stood on his left with her hand on his shoulder. Her hair was pale reddish gold and she had beautiful, kind looking eyes. She was dressed in a pastel jade dress with flowered underskirt. She wore a small golden diadem atop her updo. On either side of the King and Queen, there stood two men. The man next to the King was strongly built with shoulder length golden hair. He was dressed in dark and silver armour and a scarlet cape hung from his broad shoulders. In one hand, he held a mighty looking hammer.

"Thor," Darcy murmured, thinking of the depictions she'd seen in the book.

"Yes, that's Prince Thor," Sif said. Darcy noticed how she said Thor in a much more relaxed way than his brother. "He's Odin's oldest son. He's expected to take the throne any year now," she continued.

Any year now. Darcy tried not to laugh at how funny that sounded. But then Asgardians could say that sort of stuff. They had immortality ahead of them. Soon Darcy would too. That was going to be unusual, she thought with a frown. She pushed those thoughts away and turned towards the image of the other son, Prince Loki.

He couldn't have looked more different from his relations if he'd tried. Where his father, mother and brother were all fair, and golden, he was dark and pale. He had raven hair that barely touched his shoulders and his eyes were an intense shade of green. His skin was chalky white and he was dressed in black and green with gold accessories. An emerald cloak dropped from his shoulders. He was, quite literally and aesthetically, the black sheep of the family.

"Meet your husband to be," Sif declared, again in that strained tone.

Darcy stepped closer and looked up into Loki's features. Where Thor's portrait wore a determined grin, Loki's picture was painted with a kind of smirk. Darcy looked down into his hands. There, painted in his palms, was a snake, surrounded by green smoke as if he'd conjured it.

"Ah, God of Mischief, got it." Darcy murmured.

"Yes," Sif said, still stiffly. "You'll meet the real thing later tonight."

Temptation gnawed at Darcy. She really wanted to ask Sif where her attitude to Loki came from. But Darcy barely knew the woman and, besides, it could have something to do with Loki's mischief. In the myths he'd done something to her hair, like cut it off or something. Darcy couldn't blame Sif for being pissed as hell if that particular myth were true. Though thinking about the other myths, Darcy realised that there were a lot of questions to ask, to find out what was real or what wasn't.

"Does he have any kids?" she asked, still looking at the Loki picture.

Sif snorted a little. "No," she said, as though the idea of Loki breeding was utterly repellent. "Nor has he been married," she added with a side look at Darcy and a half smile. "So if you were hoping to meet some animal children, I'm afraid that was just a drunken rumour spread by Thor. Some of the mortals picked up on it, hence the stories."

"Ah, okay," Darcy said. "Are any of the stories true?"

Sif began to smile so widely that it bordered on a grin. She began to restrain herself. "Well there are some things that are… but there's enough time for them later," she said before gesturing to the staircase. "Your rooms are on the top floor with the rest of royal family's chambers."

Darcy gave the stairs an appraising look. Man that was going to be quite the climb every day.

Her arrival at her rooms was well worth the climb. When they reached the top floor, they arrived in a massive circular lobby. Doors carved with different images stood at different points around the room. Darcy looked over at them as Sif led her around the lobby. The first door depicted a gorgeous garden full of trees and flowers. The greenery of the trees were actual emeralds built into the door. The colours of the flowers twinkled at Darcy out of rubies, sapphires and amethysts.

"These are Queen Frigga's quarters," Lady Sif explained.

The next door had a simpler carving to it. It depicted the tree, Yggdrasil again. But either side of the tree were gigantic ravens, as if standing guard over the worlds.

"Odin's?" Darcy hazarded a guess. She vaguely remembered something about Odin having ravens.

"Yes, those are Huginn and Muninn," Sif said. "You might see them around the palace from time to time."

"Cool. I hope they don't shit on my head," Darcy said, suddenly missing her hat a great deal.

Sif chuckled. "Don't worry. They're very well behaved. Normally."

"Normally. That makes me feel better," Darcy mused with a sideways smile that Sif returned.

They came to the next doorway. This one displayed an excellent carving of a battle field. In the air was a large hammer, the one from the portrait. From it radiated sparks. Darcy didn't need a degree in Norse mythology to recognise this one as Thor's doorway. From within it, she could hear voices.

"I really do not need to hear this right now, Janaea," a great, booming voice was shouting. "This is not a day I can spare to think about this. My brother's fiancee is arriving today. I think the new arrangement with Earth rather takes precedence over a few invites to family occasions."

Darcy raised an eyebrow and looked to Sif who's face was completely neutral. She had come to a stop and so Darcy stopped as well. Looking at Sif, Darcy could see the effort in her eyes that it took not to show whatever she felt on her face.

"I am not asking for the moon, my lord Thor," a pleading, soft spoken woman's voice sounded next. "I am just asking when we can be open about… well, us."

There was a silence, a longer one than Darcy would have appreciated had she been the girl in that scenario. So this was Thor, huh?

"Soon, I am sure. Who knows what the future may hold? But it cannot be today."

Sif placed a hand on Darcy's arm and hurried them further away from the room. The conversation seemed to quieten down as Darcy did not hear what this Janaea had to say to the, quite obvious, brush off she was receiving. Then again, what could you say to a prince if you were being ditched? Or anyone really. But it wasn't like she could go ballistic on his ass. Not unless she wanted a royal dressing down, Darcy was sure.

They came to the second to last room. This room's door had an exquisite carving of mountains surrounding a forest which, in turn, surrounded a lake. Beside the lake stood three people, all raising their hands into the air. A kind of energy was drawn around their hands. Further up above their hands, a shower of diamonds, rubies and emeralds were depicted. Much like with the other doors, the colours of the images were accentuated by similarly coloured jewels.

"Loki's room," Sif explained. "The picture depicts the story of the first time magic came to exist in our world, when three people learned to harness their potential, helped by their natural surroundings and certain capabilities in their blood. Not everyone can learn magic but some have more of a predisposition. Vanaheim is a realm of magic. Most people there have the gift," she said. Frigga, our Queen, came from Vanaheim and she is one of the most talented sorcerers these realms have known.

Darcy swallowed. Because that wasn't intimidating at all, having a badass sorceress for a mother-in-law.

Finally Sif led her to the final doorway. This one was blank. Sif produced a key and handed it to Darcy. "The royal craftsmen will consult with you about what design you will have on your door. But for now, you just need to unpack and get settled in."

Darcy's fingers shook as she unlocked the door. Once she had, she pushed the door open and stepped into her chambers.

Much like the rest of the palace, the walls and pillars were of a golden-bronze hue. But what Darcy really noticed first was the space. The door opened onto a magnificent lounge area. It was over two times the size of her apartment back on Earth. Two long chaise lounges, both duck egg blue, faced each other atop a pale rug. Beyond them was a magnificent fireplace. A cozy loveseat, of the same colour as the chaises, sat in front of the fireplace. Darcy stared around at all of it, her jaw dropping as she took in the side tables with the candlesticks and ornamental figurines.

"It's beautiful," she murmured. She didn't think she'd ever seen somewhere so luxurious. It was a room fit for royalty. She had to remind herself that she would be royalty soon.

Either side of the fireplace were two sets of double doors. To the far left side of the room were wall to ceiling windows and a glass door in the middle of them. It looked out onto a large balcony. Darcy stepped towards that. _I have my own balcony?_ _Seriously?_ She grinned as she approached it but then she remembered the double doors and looked back towards them. _Where do I check out first?_ She stepped back towards the double doors, her curiosity for them winning out.

The first set of double doors led into a master bedroom which was even more luxurious looking than the lounge. Darcy was reminded of that moment in What A Girl Wants when Daphne first saw her fancy bedroom. This room too was complete with four poster canopy bed with bedposts that reminded Darcy of the bedrooms in the film Marie Antoinette. The posts were made of pale wood and beautifully carved, lined with gold patterns. Pale blue and ivory pillows matched the soft blue bedspread perfectly. There were enough pillows on there to make Darcy feel like a Queen. The bedside tables were made of a similar wood and there was a beautiful silver carriage clock on one of them. On the adjacent wall to the bed, there was an open door leading into a bathroom. On another wall leant a magnificent ivory wardrobe that reminded Darcy of the armoire in Beauty and the Beast. Next to that was an elegant vanity table. Darcy stared around at it all, hardly breathing as she took it all in.

The bathroom was pretty large too. There was a massive circular bathtub in the centre of the room, the size of a giant jacuzzi. In the far corner two glass walls separated the shower area. In another corner was the toilet itself next to a very long counter. Next to the door was a tall tower rail with many rungs on it. Darcy stepped out of the bathroom and whistled.

"Jesus Christ," she muttered.

Sif, who was stood in the doorway watching her, bemused, lifted one eyebrow. "Do you like your rooms so far?"

"Like it?" Darcy spluttered. "I freakin' love it!" She hurried out of the room. "What about this room?" she asked aloud as she headed to the second set of double doors.

She entered into fairly sizeable study area. Two large narrow windows flooded the room with light. A grand-looking desk took up the centre space in the room. Several vases of flowers stood on the window sill. Another chaise lounge took up one of the walls facing the window. On the other wall, an open door gave Darcy a glimpse of a room that seemed entirely made up of bookshelves.

"No way," she whispered. "That's not…" She walked in and spun around with a delighted squeal. "I have my own library?! Oh my freakin' god!"

Sif laughed as she stepped into the room with her. "Yes, we understood from your file that you like to read."

"Correction. I love to read," Darcy said. "This is… just wow. I have no words."

"I'm glad you like it. You deserve fine rooms for what you are doing," Sif said. She looked around as though she expected to be overheard. "Just know that you can come to me if you experience any trouble here," she said in a quieter voice.

"Trouble?"

"Your fiance is not known for his harmlessness," Sif said.

Darcy had to admit, if the myths were anything to go by, Sif had a point. "Is he a troublemaker?"

Sif pursed her lips as though she'd like to call him something far worse. "He can be," she said diplomatically. "He's supposed to be behaving himself for this treaty but I wouldn't put it past him to start playing tricks, especially to get out of it. So, as I say, if you get any trouble, don't hesitate to come and find me."

Darcy smiled a little. "Thanks. Good to know. Though if he's going to try anything with me, I think he'll find it harder than he expects. Thanks for the warning."

"No problem," Sif said. "And I hope that's true." She looked towards the door. "I have to attend to something. Why don't you get yourself settled in and I'll return to see you a bit later. You'll need to change before you meet the family for dinner," she added.

"Okay," Darcy said, looking down at the purple gown with some regret. She realised she hadn't seen a laundry basket anywhere. Although, she hadn't been wearing it very long so she could always just hang it up. It occurred to her that she hadn't seen the inside of her new wardrobe yet. She recalled learning that she was going to be wearing lots of Asgardian attire now.

Sif balled her hand, brought her arm across her chest and did a small half bow to Darcy before leaving the room. Darcy waited until she heard the front door go before grinning.

"I like that," she murmured to herself.

It didn't take her long to get unpacked seeing as how she didn't have many belongings to begin with. Those she did have were mostly trinkets and a couple of pieces of old clothing as well. She piled them up nearly in the bottom of her wardrobe. As for the rest of the wardrobe, it was occupied by some of the most beautiful gowns Darcy had ever seen. (And she had seen a lot thanks to stalking news articles about the British royal family for nosiness.) They ranged in colours from pale blue to dark blue. There was a gorgeous emerald dress and a soft, baby pink one. Really they were all beautiful and Darcy was still struggling to process that they were all hers.

One wall of her bedroom consisted entirely of floor to ceiling windows like the lounge. There was also another door to the balcony, next to the adjacent wall. Darcy stepped through it and walked out onto the balcony that looked out over Asgard.

Darcy walked to the edge and rested her hands on the golden-bronze wall. "This is home now," she said to herself.

She had a beautiful view of the Asgard beyond the palace. Before her, the city stretched ahead in the spectacular spires of the university and medical buildings, all the way towards the gigantic mountains that cradled the city in its shadow. To the far left, Darcy could see the sea creeping in on distant white shores. Maybe one day she'd get to go there.

Turning her attention back to the palace, Darcy looked from side to side wondering if the other rooms had balconies. She imagined they did. She could see one balcony to her left that was visible. She realised that she was looking in the direction of Loki's room. Which meant Loki had a view of hers. Darcy took a few steps back, thinking about what Sif said.

_If he tries any shit, he'll regret it,_ Darcy assured herself before walking back into her rooms, through the door to the lounge. A great knocking sounded across the room. "Come in!" Darcy called as she moved to sit on one of the chaises. She felt like royalty already, surrounded by this much decadence.

Lady Sif walked in followed by two young blonde women. Both of them were dressed in lavendar gowns, their hair held back by lilac headbands. The two girls immediately curtsied to Darcy. This was going to be weird, Darcy thought, really weird. She stood up, trying not to look as awkward as she felt.

"Lady Darcy, these are your handmaidens. This is Nanaia," Sif nodded to the girl on the right. She looked the younger of the two with a rounder, baby face and large pale blue eyes. She smiled warmly at Darcy. She had such a sweet look to her that Darcy instantly wanted to cuddle her. "This is Tallulah," she nodded to the girl on the left. She shared Nanaia's blonde hair though it was paler, closer to the colour of ice. She had pale green eyes overshadowed by thin, serious-looking eyebrows. "They'll take care of your clothes, keeping your rooms tidy and keeping you company when you're not accompanying the royal family. Of course, if you want some alone time, you only have to ask but they are here to take care of your needs."

It wasn't often that Darcy didn't know what to say but this was definitely one of those moments. First she had fancy rooms. Now she had servants? She really was royalty. She wasn't sure how she really felt about having handmaidens. It was weird, the idea of not having to do some basic things for herself. But she supposed this was how Asgard rolled.

"Uh, wow, okay. Um, nice to meet you two," she said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Tallulah said with a small but friendly enough smile.

"Welcome to Asgard, my lady," Nanaia beamed at her. Darcy felt herself relax a little.

"I'll leave you ladies alone," Sif said. "I'll be along later to take you to the royal family. If you girls could help Lady Darcy get ready for tonight's dinner…"

"Of course," said Nanaia.

Sif soon departed and the girls turned to look at Darcy.

"How long is it until dinner?" Darcy asked.

"A couple of hours," Tallulah said.

Darcy thought about that. "Okay well… I'll go have a bath and then pick out something to wear."

"I'll run it for you," Nanaia said and set off for the bathroom.

The Asgardians called it a bath. Darcy called it the biggest jacuzzi she had ever seen. By the time Nanaia had finished running it, it was steaming hot with bubbles entirely coating the top of it. Once Nanaia had closed the door behind Darcy, the room misted over in steam, making Darcy feel like she was stood in a sauna. For a moment the mortal girl just stood there, breathing it all in and trying to resist the urge to pinch herself.

_Is this all real? Can I really be living this in this much luxury?_

Eventually she began to strip off and she climbed into the bathtub, a noise somewhere between a moan and sigh escaping from her as she settled into the hot water. She rubbed her hands over her face, letting the sweet scents of raspberry, lavendar, blueberry and some unfamiliar sweet scents seep into her skin.

As she combed her fingers through her wet hair, she thought about the rooms Sif had shown her. It was freaky, thinking about being on the same floor as the royal family. She would be meeting them soon enough. Darcy thought about royal protocol. Did they do curtseys here on Asgard or was it a get-on-your-knees kind of deal? She'd have to ask Sif.

She against the curve of the bath, her head lightly touching the tiled wall behind her. Darcy couldn't help feeling guilty when she thought of Gillian and their rickety shower back home. Hopefully the money would really help her friend out. It didn't feel great enjoying something as decadent and as luxurious as this when, for a long time, she and Gillian had just struggled to get by. Darcy resolved to try and get a visiting pass or something for Gillian to come see Asgard.

Putting those thoughts aside for now, Darcy let her body float to the surface of the bath and cast aside her concerns for the evening.

The handmaidens were waiting for her when Darcy emerged from the bathroom dressed in a golden fluffy robe. Darcy hugged the robe closer to herself, still feeling weirded out that she had handmaidens at all. "That was great," she told them, fighting the awkwardness. "The bath was great," she added.

Nanaia, who was fluffing up the pillows and cushions on the bed, straightened up with a smile. "Great. It must be a strange day for you, my lady, coming to live among us."

Darcy fought about her goodbye with Gillian and her escort in the bifrost and her tour of Asgard. When had so much stuff taken over the day? "Yeah," she said. "Really weird." She cleared her throat and perched carefully on the edge of the bed, trying not to spoil Nanaia's neat efforts. "How long have you guys been doing this?"

"Doing what?" Tallulah was setting up a candle on one of Darcy's beside tables. The wick was covered by a glass cylinder.

"Working as handmaidens," Darcy asked. "Have you always worked together?"

Nanaia and Tallulah exchanged a smile. It softened up Tallulah's careful expression. "We have worked together many times. I've been doing this for about… four hundred years?" she questioned. "After a while, you lose count of the years."

"Holy shit," Darcy whispered. "You're really four hundred years old?"

"No, I'm 612," Tallulah corrected her. "I didn't go into this line of work until I was in my second century."

Darcy wondered if this would be her in 400 years. Would she forget her age? Those she'd known back on Earth? Eventually they would die and she wouldn't know anyone there anymore. Would she become a stranger to the planet she'd come from, a thing of stories and rumours? The whole idea seemed so remote, like it wasn't really happening to her. She had too many memories of her time on Earth, to imagine losing them.

"Wow," Darcy murmured. "I feel weird about turning 30, never mind 400."

Tallulah smiled slightly. "Time is not such a ticking clock for us," The words slipped from her lips and her face shifted, shame washing over her features. "I'm sorry, my Lady," she added quickly. "I did not intend to be disrespectful about your race," she added quickly.

"No it's fine, it's fine," Darcy assured her as she looked out of the window. "Our lifespans are so much shorter than yours."

"Yes," Tallulah agreed as she ran a cloth over the rest of the bedside table. Darcy could see no dust on it but she said nothing. "But I think mortals make more use of the time they do have," she added after a long pause. She pocketed the cloth and gave the room a quick inspection. "I studied Earth history about forty years ago and so many of you have done so much in your short lives."

Darcy managed a weak smile. Yes that was true but it also reminded Darcy that she herself hadn't done much in hers except for this arrangement. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was her contribution. She supposed she should be grateful. Not everyone got a chance like this and she could live to see many more ages of the Earth as well as Asgard. Or maybe there were things that she could do here. She didn't know yet. It was only her first day after all.

_Okay get a grip,_ Darcy ordered herself quietly, _this is supposed to be fabulous._ She picked herself up off the bed and began to walk towards her wardrobe. Before she reached it, she looked over at Nanaia. "Have you been doing this for four hundred years too?" she asked. The younger-looking handmaiden, who was smoothing down the curtains, smiled back.

"About three hundred. I used to work in the library at the university. But I wanted something different and so I started working here at the palace." Nanaia left the curtains and moved over towards the door. "I think it's much more fulfilling." She sighed a little with a dreamy smile.

"That and she likes looking at Prince Thor," Tallulah remarked with a glint of mischief in her smile.

Nanaia's blush was instantaneous. "Really, Tallulah, I-I-I don't know where you got that idea from."

Darcy laughed a little too. She couldn't help it. Tallulah was still chuckling herself.

"I suppose in Nanaia's defence, the prince is very easy on the eye," the handmaiden conceded.

"How easy?" Darcy asked before it occurred to her that it was potentially the wrong question to ask since she was to be married to Thor's younger brother. Still, good looks might run in the family. She'd seen his portrait but portraits tended to gloss over unattractiveness. After all you weren't exactly commissioned to make the royals look bad, right?

"Very easy," Nanaia admitted with a laugh. "He's very handsome." She turned away from the pair of them and began to fuss around with the bottom of Darcy's bed.

Darcy stepped forward. "Okay enough with that. The whole place… suite… thing… looks great. You don't need to tidy up anymore."

Nanaia's cheeks remained pink. "Yes, my lady."

"That's another thing," Darcy decided, "you don't need to call me my lady. Seriously, you can just call me Darcy," she explained.

"Thank you Lad-" Nanaia began and Tallulah corrected her.

"Darcy, thank you." She said as she walked over to her fellow handmaiden and looked to Darcy. "What would you like us to do? Is there anything you need?"

Darcy could tell that this was going to take some getting used to but it was also exciting at the same time. "Well… I'd just like to talk to you really. Oh," she remembered that she was still dressed in a towel, "I should get ready for this dinner first."

"Yes," Tallulah snapped into action. "How about you choose what you want to wear and we can help you get ready?"

"We can talk as we go along," Nanaia told her enthusiastically.

They laid out the dresses for Darcy to choose from. Darcy put the purple gown aside. She didn't know Asgardian protocol but it was probably best to change in a different gown. The emerald gown stood out for her. It was shimmering velvet with a low neckline. Tallulah pointed out that she had some jewellery that had been gifted to her and a necklace could diminish the plunging neckline somewhat. Nanaia showed her the shoe compartment of the wardrobe where many high heels and flats stared out at Darcy in different colours. Nanaia also showed her the drawers in the vanity table where shimmering necklaces, bracelets and rings sat on black cushions, their jewels shining out in the afternoon light.

"Damn," Darcy muttered.

"What's wrong?" Tallulah enquired. "Is something missing?"

Darcy turned to her. "Missing? This is incredible…. There's so much freaking choice. Damn that's hard to choose."

"Oh," Tallulah smiled while Nanaia giggled.

She decided to try each of the dresses on. The first dress was a truly perfect fit. Pale pink with subtle sparkles embedded into it, it hugged her hips, clung to her chest without compromising her breathing capacity and the skirt was just clingy enough around her legs to look good without causing her to walk like a penguin. The sleeves were fitted perfectly to her wrists. Darcy stared at herself in the mirror of her vanity table, twirling around to see it from different angles.

"Oh wow…." She twirled once more. Pink wasn't a colour she wore much but the pale shade of it brought out her dark hair and eyes nicely. Still, it was a bit pale for a first meeting. Darcy's gut pushed her attention towards one of the darker dresses.

Over the next couple of hours she tried on a royal blue dress with a high neckline and looser sleeves, a darker pink gown with a flowing skirt and a low neckline, a gold gown that clung to her everywhere and finished up with a halter neck. Between each dress, she chatted to her handmaidens, asking for their input and questioning them about different occasions and whether the royals wore specific colour schemes. The answer was a relatively firm no which was somewhat helpful.

Finally Darcy looked towards the emerald gown. As soon as she put it on, she fell in love with the velvet's touch on her skin and the warmth that flooded through her body. The sleeves were comfortably clingy and stopped halfway up her shoulders meeting the top of the bodice which clung to the very top of her chest, barely concealing her breasts. The bodice hugged her waist and the skirt, which also clung to her legs, loosened up past the thighs, allowing for easy walking. Darcy looked in the mirror at herself with a smile.

"Definitely this one," she decided.

Tallulah's eyes glinted with something that Darcy couldn't quite identify.

"What?" Darcy asked.

The handmaiden shook her head once. "It's not for me to say, my lady," she said.

"Hey come on," Darcy implored her, "you can't look like that and clam up. I thought we were getting on."

The handmaiden suppressed a smile, her eyes still gleaming. "We are, Darcy. But I cannot possibly say," she insisted, "except…"

"Except?" Darcy lowered the fabric of skirt she was lifting up and sidled up to the handmaiden, a grin rising over her face. "Except what?"

Tallulah finally let out a short chuckle. "Well I can think of one person who will particularly enjoy your attire, should you choose that gown."

Darcy looked down at the gown, Tallulah's words burning their way through endless possibilities of scenarios from movies where the heroine was tricked into wearing a humiliating, offensive or just downright amusing outfit. All of a sudden Darcy was picturing herself stood in front of a hysterical or drastically offended royal family. She could practically hear people laughing about the "stupid Earth girl" right now. Darcy frowned as she examined the dress. She then looked back at Tallulah.

"Is the colour offensive or something?"

To her surprise, the girl laughed a little. "No. Not at all. There are no offensive colours in Asgard. I mean the gown will certainly appeal to a certain person's tastes. You'll see yourself later," she assured Darcy. Darcy was half tempted to order the handmaiden to clarify right now. But that would be kind of douche-y and, after all, she kind of had to trust her handmaiden wasn't joking. It'd be a pretty easy way of getting fired if Tallulah did set Darcy up for a fall. She seemed way too smart and okay for that,

"Hmmm," Darcy pretended to give the matter some thought as to whether you'd drop it, "fine then," she said after a few moments. She moved back in front of the mirror and twirled again, watching the evergreen velvet fly through the air. Matching heels soon accompanied the dress.

Nanaia gently sat Darcy down at the vanity table. "Now for the jewels," she smiled.

In the end Darcy wore a silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon with the edges of the moon decorated in tiny emeralds. Tallulah brushed her hair so it flowed in extremely soft waves over Darcy's shoulders, her dark hair complimenting the brightness of the dress. Darcy allowed them to use a little perfume on her. It smelled like magnolia and it brought to mind images of wildflower meadows and crisp summer's air.

She was so taken in with the scent that she didn't notice the knocking on her suite door until it sounded quite insistently, growing in volume.

Tallulah left her hair to go and answer it. Nanaia quickly stood up from where she'd been invited to sit on the bed. Darcy gave her a reassuring smile.

"You don't need to do that."

"Lady Sif deserves the utmost respect," Nanaia told her quickly.

Deciding to follow Nanaia's lead, Darcy rose from her own seat just as Tallulah approached the bedroom, leading Lady Sif who was dressed in the same armour from earlier. She bowed her head when she saw Darcy. Her eyes became a fraction wider as she took in Darcy's attire and both of her eyebrows lifted gracefully from her dark eyes. "My lady, you look magnificent," she told Darcy with a soft, sincere smile. However the surprise didn't quite vanish from her eyes.

Darcy looked towards the handmaidens again. "Okay seriously, is there something wrong with this colour?"

"No," Sif assured her. "There's nothing wrong with the colour at all."

"Right," Darcy answered.

"The royal family are ready to meet you now," Sif declared. "If you are ready, I am to accompany you to the dining hall. You'll meet the family, including your intended," she added, "on arrival, before dinner is served." Again there was that stiffness to her voice. Darcy put it down to her experience with Loki's mischief perhaps. She would have to learn more on that later. Meanwhile she nodded in response to Sif's declaration.

"I'm ready," she said and the Lady Sif bowed her head again.

"Follow me then Lady Darcy."

Lady Sif led her through the palace again, taking her down to one of the lower floors. There were still servants walking about but not as many and most of them carried vases or linen or bowls of fruit. They all inclined their heads towards Lady Sif and Darcy as they passed. The more of the palace Darcy saw, the more she began to wander about the people. It wasn't until they descended another staircase and set off along a tall, golden arch hallway that Darcy decided to ask the question that had appeared in her mind.

"So… I haven't seen any other lady warriors so far," she speculated, "are they all still training?"

Sif looked to her with a bemused smile. "I am the only female warrior of Asgard," she answered.

Darcy actually stopped. "For real?" she asked.

Sif stopped too, looking back at Darcy with a bemused smile. "I'm afraid so. It's taken the people of this realm to accept that women can fight for them just as well as men if not better," she explained.

"I thought you guys would be a lot more progressive than that," Darcy admitted as she began walking again.

"We are in some ways," Sif said, "and we used to have an entire force of female warriors. They were called the Valkyries."

"So that's where they came from in the myths." Darcy remarked. "But wait… if women fought for you before, why is there a stigma?" As she asked the question, Darcy rolled her eyes at the unpleasant idea that formed in her mind. "Let me guess. They thought that women couldn't handle it?"

Sif chuckled. "Well something like that. Our entire host of Valkyrie died facing a terrible enemy. Ever since, Asgard has just relied on the Einherjar to protect the realm." She reached a hand to her belt where a blade sat sheathed at her waist. "I had to prove myself for many years to convince the King to allow me to train among his warriors."

"That's… wow, that's just nuts. I mean… that's like starting all over again. Going backwards instead of forwards. Ugh," Darcy mumbled and then growled. "That's just typical of men." She looked up at Sif, sideways. "Sorry you've had such a difficult time."

"It was worth it in the end. As for the attitudes of men, they will never change unless they are shown the light." Sif said. "I always endeavour to do that especially in the company I keep," she said as they turned and walked down another corridor. This time there was a set of bronze double doors, as tall as a church, waiting for them at the end. Sif turned to Darcy as they continued to approach it. "But what you're doing isn't that different."

Darcy scoffed. "I'm hardly winning any badass points here. I'm marrying a prince so that Asgard will keep protecting my home planet."

"Exactly," Sif said. "You don't think that's brave?"

Darcy fell silent. She hadn't thought of it like that. "I don't know. I don't feel brave."

Sif lightly nudged her with her elbow. "Doesn't mean you're not."

The warrior became silent as they neared the double doors. Sif slowed to a stop and Darcy stopped with her. A rush of chills flowed through her, filling her insides were nerves. On the other side of these doors was her future family, her future husband and the royal family of this alien world. A whole new world was waiting behind these doors for Darcy.

"Are you ready?" Sif asked quietly.

"No," Darcy admitted, "but yolo."

Sif gave her a puzzled look.

"You only live once."

The doors to the dining hall began to open and Darcy held her breath.


End file.
